I’m glad that the Ministry has been putting a lot more effort in the past few months with regulations to sort out issues regarding foreign laborers. Unfortunately though, news outlets in the country have been reporting that the ministry has proposed new minimum wages for domestic workers and I was shocked to see the memo.
Apparently the proposed memo regarding domestic workers states the following:
Filipino: Starting salary range between KD110-120 monthly
Indian: Starting salary range between KD70-85 monthly
Sri Lankan: Starting salary KD70 monthly
Ethiopian, Nepalese, Eritrean, Ghanaian and Madagascan: Starting salary range between KD70-80 monthly
I don’t understand how this would be legal in any country yet alone Kuwait where the constitution clearly states (Article 29) that we are all equal, regardless of gender, race, color and so on. Now I know that we are unfortunately still dealing with the “white man syndrome” where certain nationalities get paid more for the same amount of work compared to other nationalities, but how is that right? And especially when it’s coming from the government itself.
Many people will argue that it’s still a lot of money compared to what they might make back in their country and since they come from different countries they should be paid according to their countries economy. But going by that logic, how would a Kuwaiti feel if they worked in London but got paid based on the the average salary for Kuwait?
If they’re insisting on fixed wages wouldn’t it make more sense the wage changes based on experience or qualifications? For example something like:
Base Salary: KD80
Speakes English: +KD10
Speaks English and Arabic: +KD25
Can Cook: +KD10
Over 5 Years Experience: +KD20
Over 10 Years Experience: +KD50
In any case I hope this all turns out to be a rumor.
Feel free to email me on [email protected] with any legal questions. I do not have the capacity to answer everyone for free (but I try), and I am happy to announce that I am currently working with a great team and therefore we are able to reply back to all emails with a reasonable time frame.
Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.